1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and means for aligning a plurality of similar, elongate cylindrical articles while transporting or moving the articles from an initial location where they are randomly collected and delivering the articles in precise alignment for subsequent treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cylindrical elongate meat products like frankfurters and sausages are usually collected randomly from peelers or machines suitable for removing the casing within which the products are formed. This collecting operation is usually done at a fairly high rate of speed so that alignment of the products for subsequent packaging cannot take place at this time. Hence, such randomly collected products must be handled again in order to align them into measured unit quantities for subsequent treatment such as packaging or flavoring.
Unscrambling randomly collected cylindrical elongate products such as frankfurters primarily involves moving the randomly collected products to a sorter that will align the products in an end-to-end relationship so that they can move forward in such a manner to a collection area where further different alignment and grouping can take place. Representative of such an apparatus is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,372. In this reference, a device for continuously and automatically advancing similar elongate articles in axial alignment along a directed path of travel and selective removal of the articles therefrom in a predetermined sequence is disclosed. While the system operates efficiently, it is limited in volume because of the singular axial alignment and end-to-end configuration thus limiting the amount of products that can be subsequently collected for packaging.
In view of the desire to handle higher volumes of elongate cylindrical products, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide means for automatically and continuously accumulating a plurality of similar elongate articles in a jumbled, random state of alignment, and then, after forming them into parallel end-to-end lines, imparting a forward motion to the articles to a canted flighted conveyor designed to receive a large volume of elongate products in a parallel alignment that can be subsequently moved to an area for further treatment such as packaging.
Another object of the present invention is to provide simple, yet highly effective, means for efficiently filling the canted flighted conveyor without overloading or misloading to continuously handle large volumes of product.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the type described having a canted flighted conveyor that will hold essentially a complete layer of aligned elongate products thus further enhancing the volume of products handled.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide simple, yet highly effective means for continuously and automatically aligning the axis of the plurality of similar elongate products in layers and rows as the articles are advanced.
The objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a storage conveyor which moves randomly accumulated elongate products to a flighted inclined conveyor which lifts the products upwardly and onto a channelizing conveyor designed to collect the products into plural rows of end-to-end products having parallel axes. An inclined or canted conveyor collects the plural rows of end-to-end products in a layer of rows and thereafter moves the products to a packaging or other work station. The incline of the canted conveyor controls the flow of aligned products so that a rather complete layer is collected and held with the overflow sliding off the top layer and downwardly into the storage conveyor for recycling with an abundance of individual products being supplied to form the layer of rows, the layer is formed quickly and the speed of the machine is maximized.
Thus, there has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.
It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciated that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of this device.
It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent methods and products resulting therefrom that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention and to define the invention of the application, which is measured by its claims, nor to limit its scope in any way.
The objects of the invention set forth above, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are noted with particularity in the claims and next to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific results obtained by its use, reference should be may to the following detail specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.